From brains to trains

Bram Zandbelt

Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Data, Innovation, and Analytics
Scientific Computing Unit for Business Advancement

May 8, 2023

From brains to trains

Brains

What Where When
BSc Biomedical science VU Amsterdam ’01 - ’04
MSc Neuroscience VU Amsterdam ’04 - ’06
PhD Cogn Neuro: control w/ fMRI & TMS Utrecht University ’06 - ’11
Postdoc 1 Cogn Neuro: control & perceptual decision-making w/ modeling Vanderbilt University ’11 - ’14
Postdoc 2 Cogn Neuro: control & value-based decision-making w/ modeling & fMRI Radboud University ’14 - ’19


What happened?


Trains

What Where When
Data Scientist Nederlandse Spoorwegen ’19 - ’now
Data Science Tech Lead Nederlandse Spoorwegen ’22 - ’now

My current role(s)

Data Scientist at SCUBA

Scientific Computing Unit for Business Advancement

Who we are

Diverse in terms of:

  • backgrounds (academia, consultancy, entrepeneurship)
  • education (computer science, physics, neuroscience, econometrics)
  • roles (data scientist, data engineer, product owner, scrum master)

What we do

Creating meaningful impact for NS by solving business problems with end-to-end data science solutions

For whom we work

  • NS Stations (e.g. OV-fiets short- and long-term prognoses, real estate maintenance)
  • NS Security (e.g. graffiti prevention)
  • NS Techniek (e.g. rolling stock monitoring, cleaning schedule optimization)

Data Science Tech Lead at DIA (Data, Innovation, and Analytics)

Who we are

Three senior data scientists and engineers

What we do

Supporting NS’ transition to a data-driven organization by:

  • supporting teams (e.g. solving impediments, facilitating sharing of knowledge and practices)
  • data science community building and advocacy (e.g. organizing workshops, hackathons)
  • contributing to tactic and strategic decision-making (e.g. AI strategy, FAIR data)

For whom we work

  • community (N=40)
  • DIA leadership

How I ended up here

Postdoc struggles

What Where When
BSc Biomedical science VU Amsterdam ’01 - ’04
MSc Neuroscience VU Amsterdam ’04 - ’06
PhD Cogn Neuro: control w/ fMRI & TMS Utrecht University ’06 - ’11
Postdoc 1 Cogn Neuro: control & perceptual decision-making w/ modeling Vanderbilt University ’11 - ’14
Postdoc 2 Cogn Neuro: control & value-based decision-making w/ modeling & fMRI Radboud University ’14 - ’19


Throughout my second postdoc I got increasingly frustrated with academia and saw possibilities in data science


Topic Away from academia Towards data science
Hypercompetition Few permanent contracts and grants Less competition: skills in demand, permanent contracts common
Poor work-life balance Long weeks, solo responsibility Normal weeks, shared responsibility
Less time for research Decreasing due to teaching, grantwriting, admin duties “Research” is main task
State of affairs Lack of transparency, openness, reproducibility ?
Learning opportunities Perceived few learning opportunities Opportunities to grow in engineering, business leadership
Low impact Narrow (citations mainly) and uncertain (replicability) Tangible and direct

How I landed this job

I had informal chats with neuroscientists who had made the leap

I reformatted my CV

I reformatted my CV

Why this works for me

Job satisfaction: alignment of core values and work environment

Core value Expression in adademia Expression in data science at NS
Continuous learning That’s what a PhD and postdoc is all about Gaining new expertise in engineering, leadership, business
Independence Having your own research project and research line Working in self-organizing teams
Integrity & Openness Core scientific values + my work on open science Core topics at NS, expressed at multiple levels
Making a difference Expanding knowledge Creating value by solving business problems with data science
Leadership Supervision, mentoring, leading by example Helping NS becoming more data-driven

Data science is challenging and fun

  • Smart colleagues
  • Fun projects
  • Tangible impact
  • Lots of challenges: from analytical to organizational

Q&A

Get in touch!

bram.zandbelt@ns.nl